The Terrible Turk an Amusing Sailor
(Copyright, im, by Albert Sonnlchsen.)
T T C Trlr a n Bnjman la Al (I mill
" I " I Ing as ho is terrible as a soldier.
A I Vor Ai-nrv ntnrv nf Macedonia out
rage by a Bashl-Baxouk one about
the funny antics of his seafaring
brother In Islam can be told. Little won
der that the Turkish sailor is held ia utter
contempt by the world afloat.
A story that has become a classic among
Mediterranean sailors aptly ilustrates the
Turk's inability as a navigator.
A Turkish steamer with a native captain
put out of the Dardanelles, bound for
Trieste Austria. As soon as ho lost sight
of land the Turkish skipper likewise lost
his head. Just then another steamer came
tip from astern and the Turk made signals
that he wished to speak with the stranger.
The latter, on approaching, proved to 1 o a
French tramp. Fortunately one of the
Turkish officers spoke French.
"Where ore you bound for?" asked the
Turk.
"Brest," returned the Frenchman.
The Turk asked no more questions and
allowed the Frenchman to go ahead. Next
morning the French captain noticed that
the Turk was still astern, and Wiis follow
ing most conscientiously in his wake. When
next morning he still found the Turk in his
wake his surprise grew. On the third day
it was the same, and so on the fourth the
French captain always made out that Turk
ish steamer coming up astern. On the fifth
day his astonishment was so great that he
determined to let the Turk overhaul him
and ask for an explanation. Hy this time
they were well down the Mediterranean to
ward the French-coast.
"Why do you keep so close astern of
me?" roared the French captain through
a megaphone.
"I am following you to Trieste," answered
the Turk.
Whereupon the kindly French captain
s nt a boat aboard the steamer flying the
Crescent to explain to its commander that
he was about 600 miles off his course and
to inrtruet him how to regain it.
"Yonderful to a Feaman's ears are the
etorlea told of the small Turkish rchooners
th.it navigate the Black sea, the Rospho-U3
a: d the Sea of Marmora. In the first place,
u is said that no watches are . kept and
Unit all hands, includ.ng the m.m at tha
w.ieel, not Infrequently sleep at once,
'-iu-re is no discipline. The tailors never
c.uau ship or wash down dicks. This is
e-t-y to believe. If you ever sill close to
v. i.u. ward of a Turkish craft one whiff
irom lis decks will convince you that cl.an
ir.r is not the Turk's strongest point ia
b...HKin.slil. It is further averred that
i. eou schooners never carry compasses and
care not lose s'ght of land. They havs
chains, but the nst of the crow are all
..4-ld. They eat, sleep and quarrel to
milur and are at liberty to call themselves
t.ie mates or the sailors as they choose.
- once went aboard one of these craft.
1 ::iall never do it again. All hands were
oil deck, dressed most picturesquely in.
ie.es and loose, colored Jackets and trou
Every mother's son of them was
l:i-teously dirty. We asked for the captain
t..id he turned from coiling up a rope to
u.iwer our call. It is all right for a cap
la. n to be democratic enough to coll up a
io, e, but not when a big loafer of a sailor
is tlietched full length on the main hatch
watching the horizon over his big toe. But
tli. j Turkish skipper seemed too benevolent
to mind that.
.a we were talking a sheep cams up from
tlu cabin and was followed by a bljt cat,
which rubbed against the cheep In a moat
friendly and purring manner. No doubt it
wai indicative of general good will and
feeling among all aboard, but it was r.ot
the kind of discipline with which to sail
a ship.
Ch.ckens were perched about on any
p'.uce that offered a roost. A goat, which
had rubbed his whiskers into the universal
dirt until they were fringed black and
white at the roots, ambled about the
decks. On one of his horns was stuck a
piece of paper as though it had been filed
away for future reference.
Perhaps thU was only a first impression.
At any rate, I did not stay lung enough
to get a more thorough one. The stench
for'-ac'.e.
A visit to a Turkish man-o'-war was
ecaiceiy more profitable. I believe that at
the lime it just about constituted the entire
Mot-tern navy. It was a big, wooden box
shaped craft, with a high, old-fashioned
poop that probably would have si Pined
modern to Sir Francis Drake, but in the
nineteenth century was hopelessly out of
date. It was anchored in the Dardanelles
doing temporary custom house duty, so we
had to board It on business.
The deck seemed to have had trouble
with a cyclone, but that may have been
due to the fact that the sailors were evi
dently trying to build what seemed to be
a big coop for chickens. An elderly gen
tleman with white whiskers, a red fex and
gold-trimmed spectacles, was superintend
ing the work In his shirt sleeves He
looked more like a Swede than a Turk. I
remember principally (lis broad, benevo
lent smile; it took us strangers in as well
as the crew; but beyond an intense desire
to be pleasant the old gentleman did not
seem to know much about the work he
jraa superintending. Several sailors stood
A '" I tu. , I - V
41
-1,
if
1
QUAY GALATA ON THE -BOSrHOnUS, WHERE TOE SEAFARING PEOPLE OF ALL. NATIONS MEET.
- a
f
it
I p4 It ( .... 'w
TYPICAL TURKISH SKIPPAN.
about in pensive attitudes, contemp'ating
what was to be done, but not doing it.
The benevolent gentleman in shirt sleeves
was the bos'n, we were told.
The captain, trimmed up in much gold
lace, smoked a hookah on the poop and
seemed to find the mess amidships ample
food for contemplation. His lieutenant,
who was fishing over the rail, pulled up a
fish about three Inches long with a merry
whoop, just as we stepped up on the cabin
deck. After he had baited his hook again
be turned to attend to our business.
When they are well officered, Turks are
not bad sailors.
But a Turk cannot command a Turk on
the water. As a reu't, almost all of the
few steamers that form the Turkish mer
chant marine are commanded by Austrian
officers, while only the petty officers and
BallOiS are children of Islam. The engineers
are usually Scotchmen When so officered
the sailors are not so likely to lose their
presence of mind In moments of danger, as
are some of the Latin sailors of the Med
iterranean. I have this from Austrian
skippers of Turkish steamers, and my own
experience backs up their statements, I
have been shipmate of several on Chris
tian ships, and all were Invariably well
skilled in penmanship. Discipline seems
to take them out of the realm of the ridic
ulous. I recall an Incident in the harbor of
Trieste, Austria, which shows how much
an efficient officer means to Turkish sailors.
We were anchored out in the middle of
the bay. A Turkish steamer lay within
hulling distant e. Its captain, an Austrian,
had come abroad to visit our captain, who
was also an Austrian. It was about 11
o'clock at night, and the captain of the
Turk was still down In our cabin being
enteitained by our skipper.
Suddenly we heard a tremendous row
aboard the Turkish steamer. Men were run
ning to and fro on deck and shouting like
mad. Pretty soon we saw a dart of flame
leup out of a porthole of a midship house.
The captain of the Tuik came running out
of our cabin and sprang into one of our
boats. We immediately pulled for bis ship
as hard as we could work our oars. Mean-
hi
Jim dm j i H
rriif on !i'irin"'li
THE Sunf.TME PORTE AT TmK YILDIZ
USED TO SIT IN JUDGMENT.
while, the noise of the confusion increased.
A few minutes later, as we clambered up
the Turkish steamer's gangway after Its
skipper, we saw what the trouble was. A
lamp had just been upset in the petty
officers' quarters and set fire to some cloth
trimmings or curtains, and put all hands
into a panic. No rational attempt was be
ing made to extinguish the fire. The bos'n
trotted up and down, calling on Allah. One
quartermaster was making an heroic at
tempt to check the flames by throwing
water on the outside of the deck house
with a glass. Another man had taken, re
fuge In the main shrouds, where he was
baWiing forth unintelligible advlee to those
below. Still Knottier sailor had thrust his
head through a hawse pipe and was stuck
there, unable to get either out or In, while
two others were undoing a boat lashing
with frantic haste, forgetful of the
fact that u boat, attached only by a
painter, floated alongside.
But the coming of tho Austrian skipper
made an instantaneous change. As be
lauded on dfck he let out a fearful roar.
Instantly the panic abated. Each man
stood quiet. Then in a calmer voice the
Austrian gave out a succession of or
ders and In live mluut all haudj had
form 'd Into n well organized bucket bri
gade and were pa. sing water to the bjrn
ing house. The lire by this tiini had
gained Seme hawjy, but In half an hour
it was- under control and before midnight
all was quiet again and order restored.
It was a Turkish rallir in culioquy with
some Turkish soldier that gavj in: the
impression that the Turk has. an under
current of undem-nitratlve humor . which
enables him to see the funny side of things
without a smile. The Incident occurred at
the mouth of the Bosphorus opening iato
the Black sea.
We had attempted to enter the Bophorus
after sunset. This was at the tlnv; of I he
Oreco-Turklsh war, when unusual precau
tions were being taken. As we approached
PALACE, WHERE TUB SULTAU
II -
1!'. SA.
CONSTANTINOPLE PEDDLER.
shore the land batteries opened fire with
solid shot at u-, obliging us to anchor.
Next morning our skipper was summoned
ashore. Wc went along in a beat and as
we waited at the quay Turkish ' soldiers
cr-m? down from the g rrl :on and subjected
us to a lot of raillery. One of our men was
a Turk himself and interpreted th-lr re
tnark?. "Vc.ur rtiptaln will be hanged as a Greek
flllljiif-'ter," announced ope soldier solemnly.
"Perhaps," suKgested another, "he .will
only lie made to pay the expense of being
.hot at. We charge 1.0C0 piastres for each
shot, which Is cheap when you consider
Uiat it is war times."
, , (Continued on Page Fifteen.)
